Our Trees
by Greywolf717wp
Summary: Tegan and Sara. Tegan and Sara go camping out in the woods and have a little adventure. Quincest. Don't like, don't read.
1. Chapter 1

Our Trees Chapter 1

"I don't want to go camping!" Sara exclaimed from Tegan's bathroom with a toothbrush in her mouth.

"Oh, come on Sara, we haven't gone camping since we were kids and you already packed. No point in unpacking now." Tegan yelled back as she clipped her suitcase shut, "And besides, it is only two nights. I think you'll survive."

"Tegan, the only people that go camping are little kids and their families, mountain men, and people enthusiastic of their culture." she began to rinse out the toothpaste out of the plastic bristles and cup her hand to bring water to her mouth at the same time.

Tegan suddenly appeared in the doorway of the bathroom and leaned against the door frame and let her head make contact with its surface. She couldn't help but smile at her sister's desperate attempt to rid her mouth of the excess toothpaste.

"Why don't you rinse out the toothbrush then clean your face with the water."

Sara turned her head to the figure in the doorway and glared, with runaway toothpaste on her nose and a little on her chin.

"Hey, don't get pissed at me, just trying to be helpful." her voice trailed off, "what was your point exactly about the little kids and the lumberjacks going camping?" she plopped onto her bed waiting for an answer.

"What I'm saying is, is that we 31 year olds shouldn't be venturing out into the middle of fucking nowhere to potentially get attacked by a bear or other forest creatures, alone."

Tegan chuckled to herself, "that would suck to get attacked by a squirrel."

"And don't you think that proving to mom that we made up over the whole fight or whatever, by doing this is a bit much?"

"You know, we can't really argue with mom over this. She's been nagging the both of us about the whole thing for a little over a month. She won't believe us until we come back in one piece from this shindig."

Tegan heard Sara giggle a bit from the bathroom because of the use of the word "shindig."

"We have been rather distant lately, though" Sara said as she appeared in the doorways with a look on her face that made Tegan melt.

"Far too distant." Tegan said under breath so Sara couldn't hear. "Another good point I was trying to make." Tegan mutter aloud as she focused her gaze to the ceiling.

"Final quick question" Sara stated as walked out of the bedroom and into the living room to sit on a chair that was in view from where Tegan was at, "how are we going to get there?"

Tegan sighed, "Mom is taking us out there and brining us back." she turned her head to Sara to watch her reaction.

Of course her face was filled with disapproval. She didn't say anything though, clearly pissed off. Tegan dismissed it anyways and sat up on the edge of her bed. She looked around the bedroom taking in the little details people would miss if they walked in for the first time. After a few minutes of simple observing, Tegan made her way to the kitchen, only to ransack the cabinets for something to nibble on.

"I really need to go shopping once we get back." Tegan mumbled to the cabinet's contents: peanut-butter and granola bars from however long ago.

She took out the half empty box of granola bars and grabbed one of the silver-packaged goodness. She tore off the packaging to reveal a normal looking granola bar and bit into the corner of it, but immediately took the still whole granola bar from her mouth. In a playful anger she let the granola bar fall to the ground, where it shattered into a few pieces that flew across the expanse of the room.

"That's why your apartment looks the way it does." Sara said from behind the pages of her book in her lap.

Tegan chuckled at her sister and grabbed the box of the remaining granola bars and tossed it into the garbage can under the sink. Not taking any chances with the peanut-butter she threw the 1/3 of the contents into the garbage with its granola brethren, when a faint honk coming from the street made Tegan almost jump.

"That's mom waiting for us." Tegan said as she ran into her bedroom to get Sara's and her own suitcases.

She walked out of the bedroom to see Sara getting her jacket on. Tegan couldn't help but watch her noodle her arms into its sleeves. Tegan turned away when Sara was about to look at her. She congratulated herself silently for not getting caught observing Sara's adorableness. Sara was waiting out in the hallway when Tegan was trying to get her shoes on as fast as she could without messing up and slowing down the progress of getting outside. Almost forgetting her journal between the mattress and the spring box of her bed, she trotted back to retrieve the journal and the pen secured within its metal spiral. She came back into the living room as quickly as she had left it. She glanced out to the hallways expecting Sara to be standing there with her book in her hand but she wasn't, just like the suitcases waiting by the front door.

"She probably took the front seat. Which isn't bad, any excuse for a chance gawk at her beauty without her noticing." Tegan mumbled to herself as she walked out the front door to her apartment with her journal in her hand. "I sound like a stalker." she added as she slipped the journal between her knees as she wrestled with the pain-in-the-ass lock that requires both hands.

Once the securing of the threshold was done, she calmly walked out the apartment's building's front door, trying her hardest not to look as excited as she was on the inside about spending two nights with the gorgeous Sara. She looked up from the cracked concrete stairs and the sidewalk to the car packed with camping stuff. To her surprise, Sara wasn't in the front seat. Tegan couldn't tell if she was in the backseat either because of some olive-green tarp blocking the window. Tegan knew for sure Sara was in the backseat because their suitcases were in the front seat. She walked behind the car then stopped at the driver's window and motioned her mom to roll down the window.

"Where am I supposed to sit?" Tegan asked her mother.

"On the roof-rack." Sara said jokingly with a smile from the backseat.

Sonia's face sank with displeasure at Sara's comment. Tegan knew that she obviously didn't see Sara's joking grin to know that she really didn't mean anything.

"In the back with your sister." she paused, "no fighting you two."

"Jesus, Mom. We aren't six. We can fight if we want." Sara said jokingly again.

Tegan opened up the car door to see Sara scoot over to the middle of the seat to give Tegan what little room was there. Tegan squeezed into the space and slammed the door shut and locked it. She didn't want to run the risk of something getting caught on the handle and yanking the door open on some highway or dirt-road. When she was settled in, she laid the blue notebook in her lap.

"What's that?" Sara said gazing over from her newly opened book to the object in Tegan's lap.

"This? It's just um… lyrics for a new song I'm working on." Tegan immediately felt bad for lying to Sara.

Saying it was only lyrics would for sure keep Sara out of its contents. If Tegan would've said it was, in fact, a journal, Sara would be snooping around in it at some point or laugh at her for doing something only an in-love-high-school-student would do. Which Tegan practically was, but she probably wouldn't admit that to anyone, especially herself.

Sara dove back into her book as the car began to pull out of its space along the sidewalk. Tegan never realized how closely together they were sitting until a large bump in the road made Tegan's hand slip from the safety of her body's space, land in the small crevice of her leg and Sara's leg. She felt Sara's soothing warmth pass through the fabric of Sara's jeans to the back of her hand. Tegan let out a sigh as she looked out the window.

The few trees and many more houses passed by. More into the time of the drive, trees became more frequent and the houses and buildings seemed to be few and far between. Eventually, all it was were trees. After a while more down the paved highway, Sonia turned right onto a gravel road where more distance was made. Tegan leaned her head back to the rest on the seat's back and closed her eyes, surrendering to the road's vibration.

She felt the car slow down smoothly until it stopped. She opened her eyes to see the new surroundings from which was brought. Sara still had her nose in her book.

"So how was your nap?" Sara said not losing focus on the reading material in her grasp.

"I wasn't asleep. It was more of a catnap."

"Oh, yeah right. Why were you drooling all over yourself then?" Sara said as she looked up from her book then placed the bookmark between its pages with a smile spread across her face.

Tegan laughed at Sara's quick wits as she unlocked then opened up the car door with her journal in her hand. The car was parked in a clearing in the trees next to a lake.

"Well this is a nice place." Sara said as she got out of the car behind Tegan.

"It's on one of my friends' land and she let me borrow it for you two. So you know for sure that no one will be a bother!" Sonia called out as she walked to the other side of the large clearing looking for a level place to pitch the tent.


	2. Chapter 2

Tegan walked out over to the other side of the car to the front passenger seat and brought out her suitcase. She opened it up and smelled the familiar smell of her bedroom instead of the vast wilderness from which she was surrounded by. She put her journal in one of the compartments attached to the lid, and then shut it again.

"There aren't any bears here right, Mom?" Sara said with a little bit of worry in her voice.

"No, there aren't any animals that will hurt you guys. Only a ton of squirrels, so put your food and drinks in the cooler." Sonia said with a reassuring voice, calmly walking back to the car.

Tegan laughed to herself as the image of getting attacked by a squirrel rushed into her mind once again.

"Want me to help you put the tent up?"Sara said to her mother, who was trying to get the stuff out of the back of the car without causing a massive "stuff-a-lanche".

Tegan picked up her suitcase and walked over to a nearby fallen tree to watch her mother and sister set up everything while she could watch comfortably from the sidelines. The dirt underneath the fallen tree was so dry, that if you were to kick it, a cloud of dust would uplift. It obviously hasn't rained here in a long time. Tegan looked at the trees surrounding them. She loved the fall where all of the leaves began to change color. If she had the capability to create amazing works of art like Sara has secretly done many times in the past, trees would be the only thing that Tegan would draw. It was almost like she worshipped them in a sense.

Tegan watched her mother give directions and commandments to Sara. Sara had a look of confusion when Sonia told her to do the most confusing part, popping the tent. When that was done Sara took off her jacket and threw it into the car, then walked over to Tegan and sat down next to her.

"Why are you breathing so heavy? All you had to do was put the tent up."

Sara nudged Tegan with her elbow, "you would know why if you actually got up off your ass and participated."

"There wasn't much I could to even if I got up. I probably would've fucked the whole thing up so bad that the tent would burst into flames."

"Geez, Tegan. There is no way that would happen."

"I know that can't happen. I'm a dumbass but I'm not THAT much of a dumbass. I was just pulling your puppet strings."

"Tegan, you're not a dumbass. You're just an ass."

Tegan playfully pushed Sara back and Sara pretended to fall back in slow motion but lost her balance and fell back the rest of the way to land with a thud, accompanied by a cloud of dust that sprang up around Sara.

"Oh shit." Tegan said worriedly as she hopped over the log and ran next to Sara before kneeling down beside her. "Are you ok?"

Sara nodded and let Tegan wrap her arms around her to help her sit up. Once Sara was safely back onto the log, Tegan let out a sigh of relief.

"Are you sure you're ok?"

"Yes, I'm fine. Just a little shook up because I didn't realize I was going to fall." Sara finished with an awkward chuckle.

"Ok." Tegan breathed out as she let her head fall into her hands.

"Wow, I didn't realize you cared that much."

Tegan looked up, then turned her head to Sara, "Of course I care" she paused as she studied Sara's face, "I care far too much actually." Tegan soon gave a meek smile after words.

Sara gave a small smile and was unsure of how to respond, "Thanks."

Tegan smiled a little more confidently back as she began to brush the dirt off of Sara's shirt.

"There." Tegan stated as she was done brushing off the dust of the earth from Sara, "a clean Sara is happy Sara."

Sara rolled her eyes and chuckled as she stood up, "I'm going to go help Mom unpack the rest of the shit from the car."

Tegan simply nodded as she watched Sara walk back over to their mom and the car. Tegan loved the way Sara's hips slightly swayed when she walked. It took Tegan into a trance almost, which is dangerous if Sara turned around to accidentally see Tegan checking out her ass. Tegan forcefully pried her eyes away from Sara and let her eyelids shut and forced her head into her hands.

"Tegan!" Sara yelled happily from the completely set up tent a while later.

Tegan's eyes flew open to see Sara through the tent's window.

"Come here!" she beckoned.

"Alright!" Tegan yelled back and stood up, suitcase in hand.

She stretched her limbs from sitting so long and began to quickly, but not too quickly, meander over to Sara and their mom in the tent bringing in cots and sleeping bags. Tegan let her suitcase fall to the tarp's plastic, crinkly surface. She stepped into the tent and found the two women on the floor assembling the cots.

"Which side of the tent do you want?" Sara said looking up from the cot assembly instructions then pushing her bangs out of her adorable face.

Tegan pointed to the right side to underneath the fabric window. Sara sweetly smiled and returned back to her work. Tegan smiled back even though it wasn't to be seen. She returned herself outside and made her way over to the trunk of the car, rummaging through the objects within it. She picked up the few pots and pans and lugged them over to a folded chair where she set them down so they wouldn't get dirty on the tarp. She returned to the trunk and lifted the heavy cooler from its metal enclosure of the car with a grunt.

"Holy fuck this thing is heavy." Tegan forced through bared teeth until suddenly she felt the cooler's weight lighten.

"Here, let me help you with that, Tee." Sara said as she grabbed a handle on the end opposite end of it.

With ease, the cooler softly landed on the plastic tarp. Sonia walked out of the tent and looked at the progress her daughters made during the unloading process of the car.

"Well everything is out of the car except Sara's suitcase." Tegan said

"I packed a hatchet for you two so you can cut firewood." Sonia quickly added in sudden remembrance of its existence.

Tegan gave Sara an uneasy look. Sara walked over to the car and took out the hatchet. Sara looked surprisingly menacing with the hatchet in her hand. When Sara was near the edge of the tent's tarp, she forcefully let the hatchet fall to the ground where it stuck in the ground with the blade.

"Holy shit, Sara! Do you practice throwing those things on the weekend?" Tegan exclaimed.

"No, but I do other things on the weekend…" Sara said only loud enough for Tegan to hear and finished it with a wink.

"It sounds like you murder people, so I hope you're kidding." Tegan whispered back.

"Of course I am." Sara said through laughter while nudging Tegan with her elbow into her side.

Tegan's upcoming reply was cut short by their mom.

"Well if you guys are completely unpacked, I'll go because I have some left over work at the school I need to get finished, but first I need a hug from you both." Sonia said hurriedly

"Oh, fine." Sara said and Tegan said together as they pulled Sonia into an embrace.

Tegan thought that the hug was oddly similar to the one that was shared with Margaret Cho for the collaboration song about intervention. In a way, it was ironic because Tegan thought that she needed an intervention for loving Sara as much as she does, but when the embrace was done and Sonia dove into her car, Sara and Tegan waved as she pulled out of the clearing and back onto the dirt road. Sara put her hand down and walked back to the tent to get situated.

"I find it rather ironic that mom left us with a hatchet when she thinks that we are still fighting." Sara chuckled to herself.

Tegan didn't laugh. The thought of their mother suddenly walking out on her life when Tegan declares her love to Sara, just like she left her daughters in the wilderness so Tegan didn't have a sense a humor at the moment. Tegan grabbed the worn handle of her suitcase and brought it to her cot in the tent and not caring where it landed upon the assembled bed. She opened her suitcase and brought out her journal from its temporary home. Flipping through the pages frantically, the folded in half piece of paper she was looking for fell onto the bed but into the suitcase. Tegan closed her journal with a prominent slap, and then picked up the piece of paper that fell and brought it close to her body as if protecting it from scanning eyes.

"I'm going to check out the lake." Tegan blurted out quickly as she ran out of the tent before Sara could say anything.


	3. Chapter 3

Tegan jotted across the cleared space in the direction of the lake. When she reached her destination she leaned up against a tree near the beach and tried to catch her breath. She slid down the length of the tree trunk before she was seated on the ground. Tears stung her eyes as she folded the piece of paper again and put it in her sweat-shirt pocket. Her hands immediately went to her watering eyes, and her tears pierced through the sweatshirt's fabric covering her hands and into her palms. After a few minutes of silent crying amongst the trees and the lake, Tegan lifted her head from her hands and brought her knees up to her chest. She wrapped her arms around her legs to secure the warmth.

"I can't let Sara see me like this. She'll start asking questions about why I look like I just cried my eyes out and I would probably tell her everything because I'm about to fucking burst. She would never want to see me again." Tegan said to herself through sobs, "I can't handle her never seeing me again."

She leaned back into the tree and tried to settle down and control her breathing so it wouldn't be a dead give away to Sara that she was crying. When her breathing was back to normal and her eyes no longer stung, she stood up and began to walk back to camp. Accidentally turning her head to the side because of a bird cawing loudly in a bush nearby, she noticed that the sun was setting. The bright pinks, purples, oranges, and yellows of the clouds above her head mesmerized Tegan.

"We are going to make a fire, right?" Sara called, snapping Tegan back to reality.

"Um, sure…if you really want to." Tegan said shakily.

Sara grinned and nodded to Tegan from inside the tent's doorway. Tegan nodded only once back in agreement as she looked over to the fallen tree that she was lazily sitting on earlier. She thought that cutting it in half and using one part of it for fire wood while using the other, not as knotty, side to sit on in front of the fire.

"Fine, you get some big rocks from the lake's beach for a ring around the fire pit and I'll get the firewood." Tegan began as she walked over to where the hatchet was sticking out of the ground by the blade, "oh, and you can choose where the fire will be." Tegan said as she grabbed the hatchet and swung it over her shoulder like a lumberjack would and started to make her way over to the log.

Tegan heard Sara's footsteps trail off as she walked in a different direction towards the fallen tree. She looked over her shoulder just in case her ears deceived her to see if Sara was close by or not. She wasn't.

"Why didn't I make Sara do the wood chopping when I could've gone and gotten rocks?" Tegan paused her preparation to start her job to think then shook her head and continued, "I gave her the easy job because I love her that much, that's why." Tegan mumbled to herself as she began to dot an imaginary line of where the log should be cut in half at.

She took the hatchet in both hands, firmly holding onto its handle, and slightly tapped the wood with the blade to mark the line. She made the blade hover a few inches above the line that was recently made, and then lifted the tool above her head. Then with extreme force, she made the hatchet make a deep gash of where the meager line was just moments before.

"Holy shit, I didn't miss." Tegan said proudly to herself while quickly examining the damage she caused to the decaying tree's flesh.

She did the same technique over and over again, without missing, until the tree was completely in half. She rolled the barely knotted side away from the other half and continued rolling it until it was a few yards away from the fabric shelter. She stopped and caught her breath for a bit, congratulating herself on the skill she never knew she had, and then returned back to where the other half of the log was. She cut that in half of the log into four segments, where she stood each segment on its side then cut those in half too.

"That should last us the night." Tegan breathed out ah she wiped away the sweat starting to form on her forehead.

She grabbed a few chunks of wood then began to cart them back to camp where Sara making the actual fire pit. Tegan dropped the firewood next to the circle of stones Sara formed.

"I have a fucking lumberjack of a sister." Sara said while looking over the clean-cut firewood then up to Tegan with a big, but surprised smile on her face.

Tegan began to walk back to go pick up more and bring back to camp with a smirk on her face. Sara followed closely behind to help Tegan bring back the rest of fire's fuel.

"You can make the fire. I'm going to go to sleep." Tegan said with a tired voice as she let the last of the firewood fall to the grass-covered ground.

"Ok." Sara said not willing to object and start an argument with Tegan who was clearly exhausted.

Tegan walked into the tent and zipped the door up. She kicked off her shoes, fished around for the folded piece of paper in her sweatshirt then put it under her pillow on the cot. She lowered her suitcase on the floor next to the pillow so it could be a makeshift nightstand. Since her mother gave strict orders of no cell phones, she brought a watch that she kept in her pants pocket so she could at least know what time it is. She put the time-telling gadget on the "nightstand", and then took off her pants and sweatshirt, exposing herself down to her underwear and a t-shirt. She slithered into the sleeping bag on the cot and covered her head by its soft fabric to forget the world and sob in silence.

Tegan's eyes creaked open to the tent's ceiling. She was awoken by a rustling sound from Sara's side of the tent. She turned her head to find Sara wide awake, rolling and turning over trying to get comfortable in the confines of her sleeping bag. Sara was shivering. She must have seen Tegan now awake through the dim full moon's light because she stared at her for a while determining if she was really awake or asleep.

"Sorry. Did I wake you?" Sara whispered very quietly in case Tegan was, in fact, asleep.

Tegan nodded and rubbed her sleep ridden eyes to stop the blurry vision and adjust to what little light came through the thin walls from the full moon outside.

"You're shivering." Tegan said stating the obvious through a hoarse voice.

"Yeah, I'm freezing my ass off." Sara said in the same volume as before. "Could I…come and sleep with you?"

Due to Tegan's sleepiness, the effect of what Sara just asked her didn't sink in the way it would've if she was fully awake.

She nodded to Sara, "completely unzip your bag and bring it over here."

Tegan fully unzipped hers as well then arose from the cot to even the over-hang of the sleeping bag out. She laid back down on the inside's softness and scooted over to one side of the cot to make room for Sara. Sara laid out the completely opened sleeping bag, soft part towards them, and then climbed into the cot with Tegan. The cot softly moaned due to the added weight. The makeshift bed was made for only one person at a time so it sagged and it required the two people to be very close together if one person didn't want to be hanging off the edge.

"Better now?" Tegan said as she rolled onto her side facing Sara's back.

Sara was still for a little bit hesitant at the question, "not quite."

Sara fully pushed herself back into Tegan's encirclement then reached for Tegan's arm behind her. Once she grabbed Tegan's left arm, she wrapped it around her own waist then placed her hand underneath the pillow.

"Oh. My. God." Tegan mouthed to the air behind the back of Sara's head as she begun to come out of her sleepy daze.

Sara's trembling started to go away slowly. Tegan hesitantly tightened her grip on Sara's waist as if to force out the rest of the cold. The shaking stopped and Tegan took in the moment because she was thinking that this would be the only time she could fall asleep with Sara in her arms.


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry for making this chapter so short. It's just that I'm getting low on the material and I need to get back to writing, but I want to keep you guys with me and not bored with my lack of updating. I think the next chapter will make up for the meagerness of this one. But for now, enjoy! :{D**

Tegan woke up again on her back. Sara was still on the same side she fell asleep in. Tegan leaned over Sara and reached for her watch on her suitcase. 5:13 a.m. She rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling.

"Fuck me." she breathed out as quietly as possible because of the person sleeping next to her. "I hate it when you wake up in the middle of the night and can't go back to sleep." she whispered to the chilly night air.

She sat up on the cot and put her face in her hands, trying to rub away the burning sensation in her eyes because of lack of sleep. As Tegan let her hands fall into her lap, Sara turned over to her other side and Tegan watched with vigilant eyes. Due to the absence of the other source of warmth, Sara's eyes slowly opened to adjust to the lighting in the tent. Sara brought her gaze over to Tegan.

"What's wrong?" Sara asked as she studied Tegan's face for an answer.

"Nothing, I just can't sleep." Tegan mumbled as she rubbed her eyes.

"Something must be going on if even YOU can't sleep." Sara said slightly smirking.

"I'm just not really all that tired." Tegan ended with a sigh.

Sara patted the empty space on the cot where Tegan was once laying in. "Lay down. We can just talk if you want to."

"You can go back to sleep. We still have a couple more days where we can talk."

Sara's face grew with disappointment as she let out a sigh and turned around back to the other side. Tegan laid back down and stared at the ceiling again.

"You're not pissed off with me now, are you?"

Sara was silent as she searched through her head for an answer. "No." she said finally, "I just want to know why you've been distancing yourself from me on purpose."

"It's just that I've been so busy lately." Tegan lied.

Sara turned over to face Tegan but, Tegan just kept her gaze to the sky, not wanting to see Sara see right through her lies. "I know you better than that. I know you have something bothering you." Sara let out a sigh, "I wish you could just tell me what's going on. But if you won't tell me I guess I won't bother you about it." Sara said still staring at Tegan's face.

Tegan was quiet. Trying not to fall into the depths of Sara's newly set guilt trap. It was eating her alive, though. She turned her attention to Sara, who firmly had locked her eyes on Tegan. The only thing that Tegan could think that would change the subject was to flash a smile in hopes that it would lighten the mood. Sara's serious face softened and she shot a grin back to Tegan. Tegan reached over to Sara's bed-head hair and patted down a tuft of hair that was sticking up. She ran her fingers through the soft hair that in attempt to tame it a little.

"You have some crazy bed-head." Tegan said giggling.

Sara giggled along as she playfully swatted Tegan's hand away. "It's only going to be worse by morning."

Sara began to pat down the fly-away hairs of Tegan's mane. A shiver ran down Tegan's spine at the realization of Sara's fingers through her long hair and how close their bodies were next to each other's making contact.

"It's only going to be worse by morning." Tegan said softly, repeating Sara's words which she heavily coated with love.

Tegan drowned in Sara's eyes as Sara brought her outstretched arm back to the captivity to her own body space. Sara's arm rested on Tegan's right arm and Tegan forced herself, with every fiber of her existence, not to entwine her own fingers with Sara's.

"What are you thinking, Tee?" Sara breathed out onto Tegan's face as she rested her chin on the side of Tegan's shoulder while staring back into Tegan's eyes as if she would find the answer to her question in Tegan's deep brown pools around her pupils. "I just want to help."

Tegan sorted through the thoughts about Sara in her head for an acceptable answer to Sara's question. All she could focus on was the way the dim light hit Sara's eyes. "You have really amazing eyes." she finally said but immediately started to shun herself for letting that slip out. But soon after she let out a sigh of relief when Sara covered her mouth by Tegan's arm and jokingly fluttered her eyes at Tegan.

"Well, you must be tired because you are complementing me."

"You must be tired because you are actually funny." Tegan giggled back.

Sara playfully punched Tegan in the side and Tegan was just laughing at Sara for her fake pissed off face. Sara brought her chin back to Tegan's shoulder and stuck her tongue out. Tegan fought the urge to attack the adorable Sara with soft kisses as she let out the final chuckle, so she just rolled her eyes instead.

"Goodnight, Tee." Sara said grinning.

"Good morning, Sasa." Tegan said pointing out that it was technically morning as she reached over to Sara's forehead to plant a kiss. Tegan softly inhaled the smell of Sara's shampoo that was used the morning before. She smiled at Sara then rolled over onto her side facing away from Sara and quickly fell asleep once again.


	5. Chapter 5

**I said this chapter was going to make up for the shortness of the last one…**

Tegan woke up from a dreamless sleep, to the familiar smell of wood burning. She sat up in the cot and found that Sara wasn't there in the cot next to her. She huddled into the laid out sleeping bag's warmth because of the chilly morning air attacking her exposed skin. Once she was a little more accumulated to the morning coldness, Tegan pushed off the covers, got out of the cot to stand and pull on her pants, from yesterday, on. She slipped on her shoes, without socks, and then draped the sleeping bag around her shoulders like a blanket. Tegan unzipped the tent door and stepped out into the wilderness to see Sara sitting on the log next to the burning fire, huddled over a bowl of cereal.

"Aren't you cold?" Tegan asked as she observed Sara in only a t-shirt and jeans.

"Freezing," Sara said as she took another bite oh her Cheerios.

Tegan didn't waste any time in getting over to Sara and sitting down next to her.

"Why didn't you wear your sweatshirt?" Tegan asked as she wrapped an arm around Sara along with the sleeping bag's warm protection from the cold air. Sara scooted into Tegan's body warmth.

"I don't know where it is. I'm sure I left it in Mom's car though," Sara said, eyebrows furrowed while looking into the flames, trying to recall moments from yesterday afternoon.

Tegan was quiet as she was thinking back. "Yeah, you did." she paused, "but you could always use mine if you want."

Sara nodded and looked to Tegan before turning her head away once again, "Thanks, Tee."

It was quiet between the two people. Tegan watched the flames dance over the wood and so did Sara as she absentmindedly ate her Cheerios.

Meanwhile, Tegan was having an inner battle. A war inside of her, she would say and describe. And this war has been fought for a while. "Sara, I have to tell you something." Tegan forced out as she began to uncontrollably shake. She never tore her gaze from the fire in front of her.

Sara lost focus on the fire and looked at Tegan, "What is it, Tee?"

"I, um…"she trailed off and began to shake even more as she worked through her mind to see if this would be the right time to confess and search for the right thing to say. She refused to look at Sara, ashamed for being so weak.

Sara put down the unfinished bowl of cereal as she watched Tegan's every move, analyzing and trying to predict what she was going to say. "Come on, Tee, you can tell me." Sara said, trying to soften her voice in hopes to help Tegan be more comfortable.

"Promise me you aren't going to run off and hate me." Tegan said as she choked on the words and held back sobs; she held her face behind the cloth of the sleeping bag, feeling so ashamed and worried. She couldn't help but lean forward onto her legs, using her knees to support her arms.

"I promise, just tell me what's wrong." Sara said as she pulled the fabric away and directed Tegan's face to her with the palm of her hand but Tegan found her own hands more appealing than Sara's face at this time.

"The real reason why I've been so distant from you is…"she stopped as she felt a tear plummet down her cheek and into the dirt below her, "…is because I didn't want you to find out."

Sara wiped away the free-falling tear's path from Tegan's cheek, "find out about what?"

"Find out that…"she stopped to muster up the last bit of courage for four little words that could potentially change everything, "I'm in love with you."

Tegan straightened her posture. She finally looked up to Sara to make eye contact and to see her reaction to the news. Sara's eyes began to widen and her jaw began to drop, so Tegan looked back down to her sweaty hands and felt like a beaten dog as she curled into a ball as much as she could. She was going to cry her eyes out but that plan was cut short when she felt Sara's arms wrap around Tegan for a hug.

"Jesus fucking Christ, I thought I was the only one in love with their sister." Sara muffled into Tegan's neck next to her ear.

Tegan wrapped her shaking tattooed arms around Sara and nuzzled into Sara's neck and didn't hold back the tears any longer. Instead of tears of complete and utter fear, they were tears of happiness and relief. Sara pulled away and brushed the wet-with-tears hair out of Tegan's face and behind her ear.

"Well, why are you crying?" Sara asked.

Tegan pulled Sara in for another hug, feeling stronger and not as weak. "Because I'm so fucking happy," she managed to say through sobs into Sara's neck again.

"Oh, Tee." Sara muffled into Tegan's neck as she felt her own eyes start to water up.

"So, I'm yours? Well, if you want me." Tegan said with a more calm voice, leaving her arms to drape around Sara.

"Only if you'll take me," Sara said as pulled away from the embrace and grabbed Tegan's hand timidly and intertwined their fingers together.

Tegan pushed Sara's bangs behind her ear then planted a soft kiss on her cheek. Sara giggled as Tegan's lips made contact.

"Although, I would like to finish my cereal before I accidentally kick it and spill it all over." Sara said as Tegan pulled away.

"Ok." Tegan simply said with a grin on her face.

She wrapped her arm around Sara's waist underneath the sleeping bag as Sara bent down to pick up her bowl of Cheerios. The two sat in silence, feeling the new feeling of relief and complete openness with each other. Tegan had a grin creep across her face.

"You know…." Tegan began, feeling rather brave, "the blue notebook that I had in my lap on the way here isn't actually for lyrics."

"I figured that." Sara said as she crunched on her breakfast.

"How did you figure that out?" Tegan asked, a little shocked at Sara's knowing.

"We've only written together a few times and this just seems like a time and this just seems like a time that you certainly wouldn't want to. That and you never work on a song without your guitar, unless, you have a ukulele in your suitcase that you plan to work with."

Tegan just nodded but chuckled mainly to herself, in response.

"So if it's not a lyric book, then what is it?" Sara said, going back to the topic.

Tegan heaved a sigh and flattened the material of her shirt on her stomach, "It's my journal." Tegan said half ashamed once more.

"You say that like it is a bad thing. It's really not, you know. I actually have one too." Sara said.

Tegan's eyes widened in disbelief, "Well, I bet yours isn't filled with entries about me like I did to you." Tegan said half chuckling as she finished the sentence.

"Only a few…" Sara admittedly mumbled before she began to slurp up the milk from the bowl.

Tegan shook her head as she looked around the wilderness around her, smiling. "Hey, what time is it?" Tegan asked as she ran her free hand down her face and yawned.

"I think it is about 7:30." Sara simply said.

"Too early," Tegan said as she stood up from the log leaving the sleeping bag draped around Sara's shoulders, "I'm going to go back o bed since I didn't sleep for shit last night. I kept waking up all the time." she looked over to Sara, "you can use that." she said directing at the sleeping bag. "I'll just put on my sweatshirt."

Once completely inside the tent she pulled on her sweatshirt then kicked off her shoes. She curled onto the cot and formed into a ball to conserve warmth. Longing for sleep, she closed her eyes. Soon after, she heard small footsteps to the tent. The sudden rush of cold air against Tegan's back was the telltale sign that someone entered. She knew that it was definitely Sara. That and Sara was never the stealthiest. Tegan laid out onto her back to see Sara fishing for that book from yesterday out of her suitcase.

"It's too cold to be apart. The only way we won't freeze if that we stay together." Sara said ransacking though her luggage.

Tegan rolled her eyes for Sara's excuse just to be closer in this new relationship. Tegan didn't blame her for the excuse though. Now is the time to make up for everything that was wanted to do for far too long. She felt the sudden warmth of the sleeping bag being tossed over her balled up body. The soft thud of Sara's pants on the plastic, crinkly floor made Tegan slightly jump at the sight of Sara's bare legs. But she didn't jump enough for Sara to notice, though. One side of the covers was folded over to let Sara slide into bed next to Tegan's body. The cot sank even further due to the added weight than from before. Tegan rolled over to see Sara laid out on her back, with her book open and beginning to start a new chapter.

Tegan instinctively moved herself to Sara's body for even more warmth that the covers alone couldn't provide. She rested her head on the pillow and let her chin have contact with Sara's shoulder. Carefully, she wrapped her arm around Sara's waist, trying not to bump the book in her hands to make her lose her spot on the yellowing page. A little bit of skin was exposed on Sara's waist due to her shirt riding up a little so Tegan's rubbed soft circles on Sara's equally soft skin. Tegan saw Sara grin. It was either from the book or Tegan's graceful touch.

"I thought you were going go to go back to sleep." Sara turned and whispered to Tegan.

"I'm getting there." Tegan said sounding peaceful and calm. At least the war inside of her was finally over.

Sara simply smiled at Tegan while staring at her with love-filled eyes. Tegan grinned back and Sara replied by rubbing her nose against Tegan's in a sweet Eskimo kiss. Soon after, Sara went back to reading the words on the page.

"Your book reeks." Tegan mumbled into Sara's ear.

Ever since Sara's new obsession with really old books lately, those are the most common things in her hands. It will be a long time before her hands comes upon newer books too; ever since she bought a box-full at a rummage sale in Vancouver.

"What do you expect? It's from the late 50's." Sara simply replied.

"I'm not saying that like a bad thing. I like the smell." Tegan said as she nuzzled into Sara and dozed off once again.


	6. Chapter 6

It was 10:37 in the morning. Tegan found the answer to her previous question as she glared down her watch from across the landscape of Sara's chest. She watched her chest rise and fall as she breathed in and out. The grip around Tegan's shoulder slightly tightened as Sara deeply breathed in and turned her head away from Tegan, still sleeping peacefully. Since the temperature had risen outside, Tegan unzipped the window partially to let air flow into the stuffy tent. The morning sun's rays brightened the once dark room.

Tegan gently kissed and added a few nibbles to Sara's neck, which was graced by sunlight, trying to wake her up so she wouldn't be alone in the calm wilderness. Sara slowly turned her head and opened her eyes, then smiled at the blurry Tegan in front of her.

"That's the best way to wake up in the morning." Sara said tiredly while smiling as she stretched her arms then rubbed the sleepiness from her eyes with her right hand.

Tegan chuckled and watched Sara's tattoo on her inner right wrist dance around as she rubbed away on her eye.

"I love you, Sasa." Tegan said into Sara's left ear ending with a little nibble as Sara's hand fell back down to her side.

Sara said nothing but replied back with a peck on Tegan's lips, then smiled sweetly at the girl mere inches in front of her. Tegan couldn't hold back the urge, the need to feel her mouth against Sara's soft lips once more. She brought her lips back up to Sara and kept the kiss going. Sara slowly rolled over onto her side to completely face Tegan and didn't dare break the kiss while softly moaning into Tegan's opening mouth. Tegan totally surrendered to the taste of Sara's mouth and lips, savoring the faint lingering flavor of Cheerios from a few hours earlier. Tegan removed her hand from Sara's waist and brought it up to the back of Sara's neck then began to run her fingers through the short hair. Then suddenly Tegan parted from Sara with a prominent smack and began to listen to the wilderness, listening intensively as if something vicious and deadly was going to tear its way into the tent.

"What?" Sara said staring at Tegan with wide eyes as Tegan eyes searched aimlessly around the room, listening. "What is wro-"

"Sh." Tegan shushed Sara with a quick peck on the lips to quiet her. "Oh, fuck…" Tegan's eyes grew wide as pulled away even more and she found focus on Sara's face, "Mom's coming."

The all-too-familiar sound of the car's engine was roaring and it became more distinct as short moments passed and the crackle of the gravel road accompanying it.

"Act natural." Tegan said as she turned around and zipped up the tent window shut.

"How the fuck do I act natural?" Sara said in a panicked tone along with hand motions.

"Uh, put on some pants, whip open your book then sit, or lay on the bed next to me." Tegan said quickly paced.

Sara simply took orders, "hey, what are you going to do?" she said as she jumped up from the cot over to her suitcase for a new, clean pair of pants.

Tegan stopped to think about it, "I'll pretend to be asleep."

Sara nodded, "Nice." Sara said as she pulled her pants up and then buttoned them up with ease. Sara quickly sat on the bed next to Tegan and crossed her legs, with the book in her lap.

"Oh, I forgot something." Tegan said as the car pulled up from what heard to be about 9 feet away from the tent.

Sara didn't have the time to say anything before Tegan's lips were on hers for a quick kiss. "Don't have an asthma attack. Or a panic attack for that matter." Tegan grinned, "You'll do fine."

Sara was left rather flustered as Tegan rolled over, back facing her. The car's engine ceased running when Sara opened her book to the page she left off on. Tegan could feel Sara's nervous shaking through the collapsible bed. Tegan held back the urge to hold Sara and tell her that everything would be ok but she couldn't because she could hear her mother's footsteps crinkle on the tarp just outside the tent. The zipper quickly zipped down its tracks.

"Hey guys!" their mother said excitedly, but quickly covered her mouth to show regret about talking so loud in the presence of the "sleeping" person in the bed next to Sara.

"Hi Mom," Sara said softly back while closing the book in her hands.

"So how's everything going?" Sonia said as she began to walk in.

Sara held her hand up, motioning her to stop, "Don't come in, I don't want to wake up a moody Tegan so let's just talk outside."

Tegan heard a soft "ok" come from her mother, soon followed by Sara getting off of the cot then the crinkle of the tarp from Sonia's footsteps. Sara didn't go out yet. Tegan quickly rolled over to find Sara putting her book away.

"Sasa?" Tegan quietly whispered.

Sara looked over.

"I'll be out in a few minutes, so save a spot on the log for me." Tegan said even more quietly than before and added a smile.

Sara grinned and nodded then walked out to her mom but zipped up the door as if that would help with the muffling of their voices.

"Now, don't try to argue with me about what I'm going to tell you…" Sonia began, "But, I'm going to spend the night with you two."

Tegan couldn't help but let out a sigh. She could only imagine how disappointed Sara is about it.

"Yeah. That's fine." Sara said.

Tegan knew she was lying, trying too hard to cover up the underlying truth of it all. She had a certain tone in her voice that only Tegan could pick up when she was lying. Tegan heard a slap. She quickly assumed that it was Sara slapping her hands on her thigh in nervousness, a habit she recently developed.

"I can sleep in the car if you want me to." replied Sonia.

"No, you can sleep in my bunk. I can sleep in with Tegan, since she's been having a bunch of nightmares lately." Sara said lying through her teeth.

Tegan shook her head at Sara's lame excuse. As she thought about it though, she wouldn't have made a good excuse either.

"Oh, yeah, we could do that. But, are you sure there is enough room in the cot for you two to sleep together?"

"I'm sure, so are you hungry Mom? Sara offered while trying to change the subject.

"No, I ate before I came here." Sonia said politely declining.

Tegan's stomach growled. She put her hand over her stomach trying to quiet it but she hadn't eaten since the day before and it was on a roaring rampage. Figuring now would be a good time to get up and settle her very talkative stomach down; she began to practice her groggy, tired, just-woke-up face for her mother outside.


	7. Chapter 7

The large amount of sunlight stung Tegan's eyes as she stepped out of the fabric fortress. Even though her eyes were adjusted to the small rays that crept into the tent, she felt the strong urge to create shade with her hand above her eyes. She found that only one person on the log turned around. Her mother smiled welcomingly at Tegan as Sara stared out to the small waves of the distant lake.

Her mother's face quickly turned to Sara with a surprised face, "Oh, Sara, I almost forgot to tell you that I brought your sweatshirt back too. You must have forgotten it in my car."

Sara simply replied with a nod, not wanting much of a conversation with the person who ruined the moment and few minutes prior.

"Good, I was tired of her using my sweatshirt." Tegan said trying to cheer Sara up about the whole thing.

Sara chuckled and Sonia soon followed. Tegan turned to the cooler next to her and ransacked it for food. The only thing that deemed appetizing was a banana underneath a half frozen ice pack in the corner of the cooler.

"So have you two seen much for wildlife?" Sonia asked trying to break a newfound silence.

"I haven't." Tegan said as she began to peel the banana while sitting down on the log next to Sara, farthest away from her mother.

"I haven't either, but I heard some squirrels in the trees this morning while I was having breakfast." Sara added.

After that, everyone was quiet. Tegan took in the quiet, remembering everything that happened earlier. She didn't have anything to talk about anyways other than that. Her mother looked around trying to find some topic or suggestion that everyone could seemingly agree upon.

"We should go for a walk." Sonia offered.

"Ok. Let me get my coat out of the car then." Sara said as she stood up quickly then began to make her way over to her mother's car.

Tegan moved herself more onto the log so she wouldn't be half hanging off the edge. She turned her head towards Sara and watched her hips slightly sway when she walked. After a few moments of observing, Tegan turned her head back the black, flakey ashes of wood in the fire pit.

"Do you want us to wait for you to finish eating before we go?" Tegan's mother asked as she watched her daughter munch on the banana in her hand.

"No, it's fine. I can eat on the way." Tegan said as she separated a piece of banana from the rest then put the separated piece in her mouth.

The slamming of the car door echoed throughout the clearing. Tegan's heart fluttered at the thought of Sara being close to her along the walk.

"Ready?" Sara asked from behind the two people on the log.

Tegan spun around in shock for Sara to be right there so quickly. From the distance, Tegan thought that it would've taken her longer to come over. But, by telling from Sara's sudden deep breathing, she ran.

"Want me to get your puffer?" Tegan asked nervously.

"No, I'm fine." Sara said trying to take control of her breathing.

"Well, bring it with you just in case, anyways." Sonia recommended as she began to get up from the log.

Tegan followed her mother's action by getting up from the log as well.

"Well you lead the way." Tegan said directing to her mother to start walking.

Sonia turned away and began to walk towards the lake without comment.

"Wait." Tegan said quietly to Sara so their mother couldn't hear.

Tegan jolted back into the tent and swung open her own suitcase for the lost inhaler that Sara left at Tegan's apartment about 2 months before and forced it into the pocket of her pants. She also groped around underneath her pillow for the letter to Sara. She found the folded piece of paper, which was amazing in Tegan's mind because Sara has the knack of accidentally finding things of Tegan's. She forcefully shoved the folded piece of paper into her pants' pocket.

Tegan rushed back outside to see Sara watching her mom for which direction she took for the walk. She noticed the empty banana peel in her hand, and then she tossed the peel into the smoldering fire.

"I wonder how long this walk will take." Sara said, still watching her mom walk across the clearing.

"Why? Do you have something planned?" Tegan said jokingly then began to walk.

Sara followed Tegan's initiative and began to walk along side. "No." Sara said simply. "Not to be mean and rude, but I kind of want her to leave again so we can go back to making out in the tent."

Tegan chuckled at Sara's blunt straightforwardness. "I think the only reason she came here was because she could observe us together like the therapist she is and try to solve this massive "conflict" we supposedly had."

Sara laughed loud enough for only Tegan to hear. "Little does she know that the fight she has in mind never happened and we made up. Or made out…" Sara said ending quietly while looking to the ground to see where the rock she just kicked went.

Once Sonia turned right, near the water's edge, on the beach, Tegan softly grabbed Sara's wrist, put their hands together then intertwined their fingers. Sara looked at her hand in Tegan's then smiled at her while slightly blushing at the gesture.

"You're adorable when you blush." Tegan said softly while she looked at Sara from the corner of her eye so she could vigilantly watch to where exactly their mother was walking, or if she was to look behind her.

Tegan slowly rubbed the back of Sara's hand before she let go and put her arm back to her own side. Sara felt a little sad about Tegan's action, but she understood. The last thing that was needed at the moment was to get caught by their mother.

The two women turned around the corner in the same direction their mom trudged onto. Sara drug her shoe-covered feet along the gentle waves coming onto shore beside the beach of the lake. Tegan stared at the shadow in front of her in the late-morning sun. Tegan's daydreaming was interrupted by a splash of cold water to the face and neck. Frozen in shock from the wave of water to the face, she turned to Sara who was partially leaned over near the water with the sleeves of her found sweatshirt rolled up.

"Got ya!" Sara chuckled out.

Tegan huffed and growled a little even though she knew that Sara meant well and was joking. Sara's face flashed a big smile before she took off running to her mother, who was a long ways down the beach since she walked at such a quicker pace. Tegan couldn't help but chase after her with an evil grin on her face. They both ran as fast as their legs could carry them. Sara hopped over a branch as she zoomed past Sonia. Tegan miscalculated her time to jump and then tripped over the branch, landing on her stomach, right in front of her mother, with a grunt.

Sara stopped and quickly turned around at the sound of the short grunt that escaped Tegan's mouth to help Tegan get up, "And that's why you don't run."

"You're the one that splashed water on me then bolted off." Tegan said ending with a laugh as she picked herself off of the ground with Sara's help.

"Are you ok, though?" Sonia said trying to hold back a fit of laughter.

"Yeah, I'm ok." Tegan said as she began to brush the sand off of her sweatshirt and pants, "just a little humiliated," she paused and looked at the two people in front of her, "in front of you two" she looked around at the trees nearby, "and all these plants."

Sara and Sonia laughed at Tegan's sudden burst of awkwardness. Sara and Tegan walked a few steps behind their mom, as always.

"Hey we should go through there and see what's along the way." Sara said pointing to a trail cutting through the trees.

Without anyone objecting, they all began to walk down the wildlife trail that was covered in deer hoof prints. The trees on either side of the trail began to get further away from the trails edge. They walked up a few hills, and then traveled along the trail even further. Tegan, who was carefully watching each step so she could save herself from more embarrassment, was abruptly stopped by Sara's outstretched arm. When she looked up, she saw an old log house 20 feet in front of her.


	8. Chapter 8

**Well, due to me being in many band-related activities for school, I won't be able to update as often anymore but, I'll try to update anytime I get the chance. Sorry about that. : (**

"Mom, do the people who own this land know about this place?" Sara said after she let her arm fall back down to her side.

Tegan walked closer to the decomposing ruins of the wooden handmade building to observe it. She noticed that there weren't any windows and that half of the roof caved in.

"If they did know, they haven't been here in ages then." Tegan said feeling a little creeped out at the eerie quiet around this place. "I think we can snoop around without getting caught then." Tegan began to push on the broken door to open it, but had trouble with opening it.

"Someone help?" Tegan grunted as she pushed a little harder.

Sara found a place on the door next to Tegan to push on the wooden barrier to the inside. With one big push, the crooked wooden door exposed the inside of the musty smelling building. The rotting floorboards creaked in distress as Tegan stepped in.

"Be careful." Sara said from the doorway as she watched Tegan study the dusty surroundings.

The sunlight coming from the collapsed roof on the other side exposed the thick with dust and dirt corners and a few objects in the one room building. The thick residue on the black cast-iron stove along the wall prevented Tegan from exploring it with her fingertips. Sara followed Tegan, being sure that she wouldn't fall through the withering and disintegrating floorboards. Sonia only watched from the doorway, not wanting to get dirty from the unclean room.

"This is kind of like being a museum." Sara said as she looked at the rusty springs attached to a metal frame for what is to be assumed for a bed.

"It would be nice if this place had a date on an information plaque or something like they do in museums." Tegan stated as she looked at the bare rotting walls.

"Look through that trunk over there in the corner. Maybe it has pictures or letters or something that has a date on it." Sara suggested.

Tegan didn't move, eyes wide, "I don't want to go through stuff."

"Then put things back where they belong when you get done looking." Sonia said from behind them, sounding interested in the potential objects in the chest too.

Tegan walked over in the direction of the chest then knelt down beside the wooden box and exhaled quickly before she opened the unlocked chest. Immediately she saw a skunk pelt with most of its fur missing, a leather belt that has tears and a beaded sheath accompanied by a knife that seemed in good condition, unlike everything else with it.

"This person seems a like a fur trader." Sara said from behind Tegan.

Tegan brought out a piece of parchment from underneath the sad skunk pelt. She began to decipher what the very fancy cursive on the paper said.

"I think you may be right. This letter was written by this guy's wife in Boston, saying that she counts the days until she sees him again." she said occasionally pausing in between words to read, "From what I can tell, money is scarce where she is and this guy is sending most of his profits to her." she paused, "And that's practically it."

"Is there a date?" Sonia asked.

"18… something 7" Tegan simply said as she attempted to reread the piece of paper in her hand.

She put the piece of parchment back where she found it. Underneath the skunk pelt, she found a buckskin pouch. She grasped the surprisingly soft leather in her hand and began to pry open the drawstring with her fingers. She emptied the bag's contents in her hand and found an ivory elk tooth, a few stone and metal arrowheads. She took one stone and one metal arrowhead and set them down on the floor next to her.

She dumped the rest of the contents back into the bag, tightened the string, then placed it all back into the chest the way she found it. Tegan was about to close the chest, but the knife caught her attention. She couldn't help but pick it up and observe it. Tegan grabbed the knife by the antler handle and carefully slid the blade out of the beautifully beaded sheath.

"Holy fuck," Tegan exhaled out when she saw the dried blood on the seven inch long blade.

"Do you think that was from some animal or from someone?" Sara said without fear in her voice.

"This guy was a fur-trapper, trader man." Sonia began, "It's probably from the skunk he skinned."

Tegan slid the blade back into the depths of its animal hide home. She carefully closed the trunk, with the knife still present in her hand.

"Hey, what happened to you saying that you didn't want to go through stuff, let alone putting things back where you found them?" Sara said, watching Tegan get up from her spot on the floor with the items in her hand.

"Well, that was before I saw the arrowheads and the knife." Tegan said before she dropped the stone arrowhead into Sara's hand. She walked over and placed the metal one in her mother's hand, "Think of these things as a souvenir from a museums gift shop. Besides, I think that this man would've wanted his belongings to continue to have a story, so we will make our own history with them."

Tegan grabbed a decaying, sun-rotted piece of rope in the ground next to the door, fed it through the belt loops on her pants and tied it tightly around her waist. She stuffed the knife between the rope and the fabric of her pants on her left-handed side.

Sara stared at the bit of Tegan's skin that was exposed due to Tegan's shirt and sweatshirt being hooked on the handle of the knife. Her eyes wandered up Tegan's stomach, up to her chest, and up her neck to a grin-sporting-face looking directly at her. Sara's face suddenly began to warm by getting caught checking out her sister. Sonia was back a few steps from the door outside, so she was completely unaware of what just happened behind her back.

Tegan's stomach rumbled and growled violently at not being satisfied at the meager breakfast from earlier. Sonia turned around to see who was guilty of the talkative tummy. Tegan giggled when her mom immediately looked at her.

"I suppose we should head back to camp so I can make lunch." Sonia said as she began to walk away from the miserable-looking old log house.

Sara and Tegan took the incentive to follow, but they stopped at the doorway to close the door behind them. Not like it really mattered if they left it open because of the collapsed roof but they did it anyways to go along with the saying, "put it back where you found it", even though the 3 women shattered that with taking the supposed fur trader's belongings. They began to walk even further behind Sonia, out of earshot.

"So I wonder what Mom is making for lunch." Sara still partially embarrassed from getting caught observing the attractiveness of Tegan's body so she tried to get away from that topic as much as she possibly could.

But Tegan knew exactly what she was doing. "So what were you so intrigued with earlier?" Tegan said, messing with Sara as she began to walk away with a smug grin planted on her face.

"Oh, nothing," Sara said as she caught up beside Tegan. She glanced down to the knife on Tegan's hip. "I do like that knife by the way."

Tegan looked down to where Sara was looking. "Are you sure you are talking about the knife?" Tegan lifted her shirt up to unhook it from the handle and cover up the once exposed skin.


	9. Chapter 9

**I'm so sorry, but this will probably be the last chapter for a little while until I can somehow plan out a time to write, so hopefully, this will hold you guys over until I update once again.**

Sara ran down the last hill and Tegan just watched from the top of it. When it became her turn, she trotted down skillfully and it was now Sara's turn to watch from the bottom. With Tegan at the bottom of the hill too, Sara glanced around for her mother. When Sara saw that the coast was clear, she grabbed Tegan by the hand and guided her to a nearby tree beside the path, while walking backwards with a smile on her face. Sara let go of Tegan's hand then hooked her fingers through two belt loops on Tegan's pants, pulling the two people closer together.

"I love you." Tegan whispered as she pressed her forehead against Sara's.

"I love you more," she whispered guiding Tegan to a big tree behind her. "Shit!" Sara yelled as she tripped over an above-ground tree root and fell backwards with Tegan landing on top of her. Sara began to blush when she realized that Tegan landed directly between her legs.

"Are you ok, Tee?" Sara said softly breathing into Tegan's face directly above hers.

"I'm fine." Tegan chuckled out. "I had a soft landing. But, the real question is…" Tegan momentarily got lost in Sara's eyes, "are you ok?" Tegan propped herself on her hands on either side of Sara's shoulders.

"Yeah, my back broke my fall." Sara said as she began to slip her hands into Tegan's back pockets, while staring at her, grinning.

Tegan laughed softly and looked below her to see how she landed. She realized too that she was between Sara's legs. Sara watched Tegan's face in the realization and couldn't help but squeeze Tegan's hips with her thighs. Tegan responded by letting out a low moan and a deep sigh as she shifted her body's weight on Sara, then slowly but surely started grinding her hips into Sara. Sara breathed out sharply at the friction Tegan's hips were creating. Tegan happily continued to grind into her if it made Sara breathe like that for her. It fueled her to keep going with it.

"Oh, fuck Tegan." Sara said as she removed her hands from Tegan's back pockets to her lower back to feel Tegan's muscular body move above her.

Tegan just kept the same pace, even though she knew that Sara would want her to go faster, to have more contact, but she wanted to take her time while taking in every moment and movement her sister made underneath her.

"Are you guys coming?!" Sonia yelled from a long distance away.

Sara groaned in disappointment underneath Tegan when Tegan stopped her grinding into Sara altogether. Sara just let her arms fall from Tegan's back to the ground in defeat. Tegan pulled herself up to sit on her legs, but kept her hands on Sara's waist, just above her hip bones.

"Yeah, we're coming! Sara fell but she's ok!" Tegan hollered back as she turned to Sara to help her up.

Sara grabbed Tegan's outstretched hand and let her pull her up, even though she was perfectly capable of getting up by herself. Once, up on her feet, Sara winced at the sudden pain from the back of her right leg, and then fell into Tegan for support.

"Shit, Sara. Are you sure you are ok?" Tegan said propping Sara up against her more comfortably and effectively.

"Yeah, it's just that," Sara looked down to the source of pain, "I'm bleeding," she said looking at the dark red spot growing larger and larger by the second.

"Here, sit." Tegan said now guiding Sara to a tree stump. "I want to take a look at it."

"It's not like you're a doctor or anything." Sara said as she sat on the stump before a now kneeling Tegan.

"It's as close to medical attention you're going to get out here." Tegan said as she carefully began to roll up Sara's skinny jeans up and over her injury.

Tegan exhaled sharply as her hands worked up the material to reveal soft, smooth, pale skin of Sara's. She fought the urge to pick up where they left off before the interruption caused by their mother, but taking care of her sister was the first priority of it all.

"I'm going to have to wrap your leg up." Tegan said from behind gritted teeth as she watched blood continue to seep out of her wound then down her leg.

"Ok." Sara said as she placed her hands behind her on the edge of the stump then leaned on it for support.

"Here, hold this." Tegan said as she took the knife from between the rope and her pants, and placed it in Sara's lap.

Tegan began to untie the rope around her waist, then unthreaded it through the loops and placed on the ground near the stump. Then she unzipped her sweatshirt.

"Hold this for me too." Tegan said throwing the sweatshirt onto Sara, not really caring exactly how it landed upon her.

Sara stopped leaning on her hands and brought the fabric of the sweatshirt up to her face, also taking in Tegan's smell that still lingered. Her face flashed in confusion as she watched Tegan walk over to the water's edge. She couldn't help but let her eyes grow wide when Tegan pulled her t-shirt over her head, revealing only a black bra.

"This is not the time to go swimming!" Sara called over to Tegan.

Tegan didn't look over to Sara, but simply put her shirt in the water, letting it soak up the liquid. She rung out the excess moisture then began to calmly walk back to her twin who was hiding her smile behind Tegan's own sweatshirt. Tegan knew exactly what Sara was thinking so she didn't bother looking at her as she wiped off the run-off blood on Sara's legs, before wrapping up the wound with the moist t-shirt, with embarrassment on her face. To make sure the shirt wouldn't slip off, she wrapped the rope around the t-shirt and tied it to prevent it from doing so.

"When we get back to camp, I'll wrap it up properly." Tegan said now looking at Sara who was still grinning secretively behind the sweatshirt.

"Can I have my sweatshirt back now?" Tegan reached for the sweatshirt, but Sara pulled it behind her, out of Tegan's reach.

"Um… no," Sara said simply still taking in Tegan's half nakedness.

Tegan grabbed the knife in Sara's lap and shoved it between her pants and her underwear just to below her stomach.

"Come on." Tegan said reaching again for the jacket, but Sara put it above her while shaking her head.

Tegan leaned into Sara and kissed her as a distraction to get her sweatshirt out of her hands. She snaked her arms up Sara's as Tegan gently kissed her. Once the soft material was in her grasp, she ripped away from Sara slightly blushing and immediately began to put it on.

"Come on, gimpy. We better get back before Mom starts looking for us." Tegan said as she stood up and zipped up her coat at the same time.

Sara only stared at Tegan with a little disappointment and was trying to conceal a smile. Tegan walked over to beside the stump, picked up Sara's right arm and brought it around her neck to help her little sister up.

"Can you walk?" Tegan asked, increasing her grip on Sara's waist as she helped her up.

Sara bared her teeth upon standing, "It hurts a lot to even stand on it."

"Ok, I'll walk you back then." Tegan said pleased with the fact that they have an excuse to be close, even if one of them was injured.

Tegan felt Sara's fingers loosely play with the hair draping her shoulders as she walked and Sara hobbled beside her.

"I think I might have some bruises on my back from the rocks I landed on." Sara said with a hint of defeat in her voice.

Tegan quietly gulped. "I can look and see if there are." Tegan's mind began to wander. Tegan imagined running her hands up the length of Sara's bare back and letting them explore without restraint, no mother to interrupt some private time with her sister.

"So what do you think Mom's going to think of my injury?" Sara said making Tegan rush back to reality.

"She's going to think you're a klutz that's what." Tegan said surprisingly normal.

"You fell too." Sara said reminding Tegan of her own accident proneness.

"I know I fell, but I didn't get roughed up like you." Tegan retorted back as the hobbled down the beach together.


	10. Chapter 10

They turned around the corner and saw their mother stirring something in a pot over the relit fire.

"Smells good!" Tegan shouted over to her mother to draw attention from the pot to themselves.

"Do you have any idea what she's making?" Sara whispered to Tegan.

"No clue. I can't smell it. I only yelled that to make her look over." Tegan whispered back and Sara replied with a laugh.

Sonia did look up with surprise though. Surprised that they were hanging off of each other until she saw Sara's wrapped up leg, and then her face turned with worry. She quickly stood up and walked the short distance left.

"Are you ok?" Sonia asked, helping Sara be guided over to the log near the fire along with Tegan.

"Turn around and face the tent." Tegan ordered to Sara and Sara complied.

Tegan plopped down on to the tarp and crisscrossed her legs while taking out the knife and placed it beside herself.

"Mom, you should go get the first aid kit for me, please." Tegan asked as she took off Sara's right shoe.

"Oh, I put it inside the tent by the entryway. Knowing you Tegan, I thought I would put it there."

Tegan laid back and stretched to reach for the plastic box, which she easily grabbed.

"You couldn't have just gotten up?" Sara said as she looked at Tegan's exposed lower stomach as she reached.

"Shut up." Tegan said playfully as she sat up and gently grabbed Sara's ankle to place in her lap.

"Be careful with me." Sara said as she watched Tegan begin to take off the temporary bandages.

Tegan glanced up at Sara and mouthed "I will." then ended it with a smile. "At least you're not bleeding now." Tegan said aloud this time.

"Is it deep?" Sonia asked as she stirred the soup in the pot.

"It doesn't feel like its deep, but it sure hurts."

"This might sting." Tegan said as she spread the disinfectant cream on Sara's leg.

Sara didn't wince but a shiver ran up her spine from Tegan rubbing her leg with care. "It doesn't sting." Sara said observing Tegan's concentration ridden face.

Tegan's face gave away the feeling that she was on a mission or she had a great goal set that she promised to finish flawlessly as she carefully wrapped a bandage around her leg. And her eyes were filled with love that was sure to make Sara melt if Tegan made that face at her.

"All done." Tegan said with a proud looking grin on her face as she wiped the excess disinfectant on her front of her pants.

Sara inspected the leg that was perfectly wrapped by Tegan. "Thanks." Sara said as Tegan got up.

Tegan nodded in response. "You're welcome; now let's go see if you have any more injuries." Tegan said holding her hand out to Sara to help her up to her feet once again.

"I'll call you two when the chicken noodle soup is done." Sonia said not looking over her shoulder.

"Ok." Tegan and Sara said in unison as Tegan led Sara inside as she closed off the wilderness with a single zipper.

Tegan brought Sara beside the cushy cot, soft with sleeping bag puffiness.

"Stay there. Don't move." Tegan said with such softness in her voice so she wouldn't get punched by Sara for being bossy as she directed Sara to the very edge of the cot.

Tegan crawled onto the bed and sat with a space between her legs for Sara to comfortably sit. Tegan put her hands on Sara's lower back.

"Ok. Sit." Tegan softly ordered as she led Sara down to the comfort of the bed.

Sara slowly sat down on the edge of the bed shakily because she was balancing on one leg. Once in the safety of the bed, Sara scooted in closer to Tegan. Sara felt the sweatshirt and t-shirt of hers slowly expose her back to the cool fall air in the tent. She felt herself blush from Tegan's simple actions and was grateful that Tegan wasn't facing her to see her blush.

Tegan held her breath as she lifted up the fabric from Sara's back to see pale skin, without any imperfections what so ever. Tegan's eyes searched for any type of damage that couldn't be seen from a passing glance.

"See anything?" Sara asked.

"No, I don't. Does it hurt anywhere?" Tegan asked from behind Sara.

Sara responded with a simple no. Tegan cut herself off from attacking Sara's back with her lips by pulling the material back down. She knew if she didn't, she wouldn't be able to stop, no matter whom heard or barged in.

Sara leaned back into Tegan's encirclement. "So now we wait." she said quietly enough for only Tegan to hear.

"Waiting's not too bad when I have you in my arms." Tegan sweetly said as she wrapped her arms around Sara's waist and pulled her closer to her.

Sara leaned the back of her head against Tegan's shoulder and closed her eyes, taking in the moment.

"No moment can be more perfect that this." Sara said with her voice low as she began to intertwine their fingers together.

Tegan held onto Sara even tighter, "Yeah." she said lovingly into Sara's ear before kissing it.

Tegan rested her head against Sara's then closed her eyes, only listening to their breathing, the small breeze blowing through tree leaves and the few birds that were left that stay for the winter instead of migrating south. Everything was as Tegan dreamed. The calmness was shattered, however, when Sonia announced so unnecessarily loud that lunch was done. Her call was so out of nowhere that both Sara and Tegan jumped.

"Ok!" Tegan yelled back at her mother as she was grinning at Sara while trying to regain her breath from the shock.

Sara turned around at Tegan to see her reaction, which was matching hers. "Holy fuck, she didn't need to give us a heart attack!" Sara whispered to Tegan as she tried to get her breathing back to normal.

Tegan leaned herself over onto the cot while laughing at how startled they both were. Sara watched Tegan's laughter subside into giggling and noticed how adorable she was and could help but grin herself. Tegan's giggling settled down into a smile that reflected Sara's.

"Want me to bring you a bowl?" Tegan said.

"Nah, I'll go outside." Sara said as she began to get up while supporting most of her weight on her left leg.

"Whoa, hold on. Let me help." Tegan said as she shot up from the cot and held onto Sara with gentleness.

"Thanks Tee." Sara said then looked into Tegan's eyes.

Tegan huffed then smiled, "no problem."


	11. Chapter 11

**Just my opinion and all, but this is my favorite chapter that I've written so far, and I would very much appreciate comments! :{D**

"Ugh…I'm so full." Tegan sighed as she laid back on the tarp with her hand on her stomach.

Sara chuckled. "Maybe you shouldn't eat 3 full bowls next time, Tegan."

Tegan laughed. "I'm going to have to make a note of that."

There was an awkward silence. Sonia noticed the dwindling firewood pile next to the fire that only consisted of 2 logs. "Want me to get more firewood or is one of you willing to get some?"

"I'm too full to move." Tegan said as she began to watch the clouds migrate across the vast blue sky.

"I'm gimpy." Sara exclaimed as she finished her third bowl as well.

"Awe, it's only a scratch, Sara." Tegan said as she made out a star shaped cloud in the sky.

"No, it's fine. I can do it." Sonia said.

"You aren't going to really cut down trees are you?" Tegan exclaimed as she sat up onto her elbows.

"No, I was going to get twigs and whatever else fallen trees I could find." Sonia said back as she grabbed the hatchet that was nearby.

"Well, ok. Be careful though." Sara said with a motherly tone.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." Sonia said as she walked off down the gravel road that she drove down on earlier in the day with the hatchet in her hand.

Tegan laid back down fully onto her back and Sara watched their mother walk away down the road until she was unseen. Sara stretched her limbs in her place before she got up and hobbled over Tegan and into the tent.

"Where you going?" Tegan asked Sara as she turned her head to see Sara rummaging her suitcase through the tent doorway.

"Nowhere, I'm just getting my book." Sara said as she grabbed the old book from within her suitcase and walked back to the log. "Your hair is so messy." Sara said as she sat down and opened her book open to the page she left off on.

Tegan patted her hair down and rearranged her hair to where it normally rested, making the tarp crinkle underneath her due to her actions.

"It's was rather sexy." Sara said, reading the pages in front of her.

Tegan grinned helplessly and shook her head and watched Sara. "God, you are such a flirt."

Sara chuckled. "I know I am."

Tegan brought her attention back to the sky's clouds. "That one looked like an umbrella almost." Tegan said to herself.

Sara turned around towards Tegan with a confused look on her face. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

"That cloud right there." Tegan said as she pointed to the cloud directly above her.

Sara looked up to where Tegan was pointing. "It doesn't from where I'm at."

Tegan patted on the tarp next to her. "Lie down and watch the clouds with me."

Sara looked at the book in her hand, then the road that her mother was seen walking, then Tegan. "Yeah, sure why not." Sara said as she marked the page in her book, got up from the log, then laid down on the tarp next to Tegan.

"So when was the last time you watched the clouds go by?" Tegan asked staring to the endless sky above her.

Sara thought for a moment as she watched the white puffs in the blue go by. "I don't know. It's been so long since I have so I can't remember." She pointed to the one near the horizon. "That one looks like a jelly bean."

"You're right it does." Tegan said slightly laughing at her sister's random observation. "So it's been that long since you watched the clouds?" Tegan turned to her sister who was right next to her.

Sara sighed and watched a cloud pass by above her. "I guess I've never really thought about it," she said flatly.

Tegan turned her head back up. "Your right, it's not really what people think about."

"When was the last time you looked at the stars?" Sara said looking to Tegan.

Tegan was slightly taken aback by Sara's question. Although it shouldn't have since she always asked question like that from time to time. "I don't know." Tegan said honestly back to Sara.

Sara turned her head to continue watching the clouds roll by. "It's been ages since I have." Sara began to play with the zipper's runner on her sweatshirt.

Tegan looked to Sara's hand to see what she was doing. "Well, we can look at them tonight…if you want." she looked up to Sara's eyes.

Sara looked over to Tegan and smiled. "I'd really like that."

Tegan matched her smile with her sister's beautiful one. "Well… I guess it's a date then." Tegan said as she reached for Sara's free hand and entwined their fingers together.

"I guess it is then." Sara said holding onto Tegan's hand even tighter.

They both looked up to the sky together at the same time, both with a grin on their faces. Sara's grin soon dwindled to a non-impressed look. "What are we going to do about Mom, though?"

Tegan's face grew somber but quickly turned back into a smile, "How about the date officially starts when Mom goes to sleep."

Sara nodded and smiled, "That works just fine."

They both heard the faint footsteps of their mother walking back, so they unlaced their hands but didn't move away from each other on the ground. There was enough distance between their bodies for their mother to think that nothing unordinary was happening.

"Hey, what are you two doing?" Sonia asked as she laid down the large pile of twigs and sticks into the firewood pile.

"Watching the clouds," Tegan replied in a monotone voice to the sky above her.

"Oh, that sounds interesting. Have you seen any good ones?" Sonia asked as she wiped the dirt residue of the branches on the front of her pants.

Tegan propped herself up on her elbows and looked over to her mom. "No, not really… That pile of twigs won't last us very long." Tegan felt Sara's eyes bore into her skin. Sara subtly licked her lips while she looked up and down Tegan's figure that was resting on her elbows.

"That's all I could find along the roadside." Sonia said as she began to dig a shallow hole in the ground a few feet away from the fire pit for the little bit of soup left from the pot.

Tegan grinned at Sara, "Want me to go and get some real firewood?" Tegan offered.

Sonia looked over to her daughter, "Yeah, sure if you can find some."

Tegan smiled to her mother this time. "I saw some on the walk from earlier." She got up from the tarp and left the Sara, who was still lying on the ground, behind.

She grabbed the worn handle of the hatchet and the coil of rope and began to walk towards the lake across the clearing. She had a feeling that Sara was watching her so she glanced over her shoulder while walking to see Sara looking at her as she predicted. Tegan rolled her eyes, smiled and continued on her way to the beach by herself with the hatchet propped over her shoulder.

Once she reached the beach, she immediately saw the large pieces of driftwood along the tree line. Tegan laid out the rope down on the sand, stretched out the length of it into a straight line. She walked over to the largest one of the group of four logs of driftwood. Tegan rolled the sleeves of her sweatshirt up and over her elbows before she did the work. She picked up an end of the largest and drug it over to the rope and put the end over the length of it. Tegan drug the rest over just the same as the first, pilled it as neat as she could along with the hatchet, and then tied the rope tightly around the pile. Instead of picking the hoard up, she decided to drag the large pile back to camp where she could cut the firewood into more workable sections.

Tegan wrapped the rope around her hand a few times for more grip then began to walk backwards, dragging the firewood along with her. She faced forward back to camp with the pile behind her.


	12. Chapter 12

**After a while of not having any motive for this fic I finally found some. It's great to be back. Reviews and comments are always nice. C: **

"Did YOU chop down a tree?" Sara said, greeting Tegan back into the camp.

"No, I told you I saw some wood on the beach." Tegan said dropping the rope to the ground beside her.

"I guess you did." Sara said, still in the same position that Tegan saw her last in.

Tegan walked over to the tarp and landed on her knees before falling onto her stomach next to Sara.

"I presume you don't want to cut it?" Sonia asked from the log next to the fire.

Tegan groaned tiredly.

"Ooh, I want to!" Sara said excitedly as she got up.

"Are you sure you're up for that?" Sonia asked as she covered the last bit of soup with the dirt she dug up moments ago.

"Yeah! I've never cut wood before so this should be interesting." Sara walked over to the axe that was within the pile of firewood that Tegan drug over.

Tegan took this as an opportunity to stare at her sister without getting caught by her mom. She rolled over onto her back and pulled up her arms so she could rest her head on them. She turned her head towards Sara and began to watch her sister do practice swings before she actually hit the log.

"Now hit that mark again and again until you cut all the way through the log." Tegan said, watching.

Sara looked over to Tegan lying out on the ground. "I know how to work an axe, Tegan." Sara swung the axe into the log again, completely missing the first chop's mark.

Tegan got up from the ground and trotted over to Sara. "I think you should let me help."

Sara immediately gave up the axe to her sister with a defeated look on her face. "Go ahead"

Tegan placed her hands on the axe like she did the day before. "Keep your hands away from each other. They need space so you can have more control when you are aiming on the log. Oh, and it also helps if you hover the blade over the mark and then swing to your mark." She handed the axe back to Sara to see her do it.

Sara placed her left hand on the very bottom of the axe and her right hand kind of near the middle. "Like this?"

Tegan grinned at her sister's quick learning. "Exactly, now chop." Tegan stepped back and watched her sister take her place in front of the log again.

Sara let the blade hover over the initial mark on the log before taking it behind her head and swinging it into the tree, closely making her mark.

"Much better, Sara." Tegan said looking at the gash that Sara created with the tool. "I certainly wouldn't want you pissed off at me when you have an axe in your hand."

Sara smiled proudly as she let the axe swing down to her side before nudging Tegan lightly in the side with her elbow. "You're way better at it though."

Tegan shot a grin at her sister before slightly blushing. "Thanks." Tegan stood up and walked back a few steps so then she wouldn't get hit by Sara chopping away. "You can chop the wood and I'll put it in the pile."

"Ok." Sara simply said as she put all of her focus on splitting the wood in front of her.

Tegan sat back down on the log by the fire, getting mesmerized by how Sara's muscles moved as she chopped. Sara didn't work out or worry about her health with such a watchful eye like Tegan, but as Tegan watched her sister play the role of a lumberjack, she came to the conclusion that Sara's full of surprises when it comes to strength. Sara would be even better if she wasn't putting the majority of her body's weight on one leg.

Tegan finally noticed after a while, a little bit of wood was accumulated that she said she would bring over to the firewood pile. Tegan got up and walked around Sara's swinging and grabbed everything that was cut. She lugged the new firewood made from driftwood over to the meager pile next to the fire. Since Tegan had not much else to do, she rearranged the wood neatly, sorting by size.

Tegan also noticed that their mother was rather quiet for being right there. Tegan looked over to her mother who was watching Sara too, but also observing the way her daughters interacted. Tegan made a mental note to be careful with the way she acts with Sara around her mother.

The driftwood was getting shorter and shorter and smaller in size each time Sara made a chop it seemed, but Tegan didn't bother to count each time the blade made contact with wood. Even though the counting of chops would make Tegan ease her nervousness of her mother watching closely, she made no effort to. She simple played with her fingers without knowing, a habit that Sonia picked up on.

"Tegan, are you ok?" Sonia asked, sounding slightly worried.

Tegan stopped moving her fingers and quickly glanced to Sara's face for a reaction then looked at their mom. "I'm fine," she said, trying to sound as normal as possible.

Sonia's face lightened. "Well, I saw you fidgeting around so I thought I would ask."

"Just a little bored is all," Tegan stated, partially telling the truth.

"Go read a book or something," Sonia stated, trying to be helpful but Tegan just really wanted her to be less talkative.

"I didn't bring one with," Tegan brought her legs up to her chest, giving her mom the body language that she didn't want to talk anymore. She looked up and saw Sara have a concerned look on her face or a warning as she split the last piece of wood that needed to be split.

Tegan knew her sister knew what she was thinking. She could just feel it and wondered if their mother did too, but she didn't look over. Tegan watched Sara intensively as Sara dropped the axe to the ground beside her feet, bend over and pick up the wood Tegan failed to take care of, and then walk over to the pile to put the products of her labor.

Tegan stayed quiet as Sara returned to the log, wondering what to do now as she slowly dampened the fabric of her pants with the closeness of her exhaled unto it. She didn't know what to do. It was mid day, and she was out of ideas.

"So…" Sara trailed off, acting more casual than Tegan, "now what?"

Tegan let her legs rest further away and leaned back and grinned. "I was about to ask the same thing."

"Twins." Sara stated as she leaned forward to look at Tegan as their mother laughed between the two.


End file.
